I first discovered the art of Be Free on the Corner of the Tin Pot cafe where a little girl was pasted on the wall dropping a deck of cards onto the ground in front of her. This image immediately appealed. It invoked a sense of letting go of order and restrictions whilst enabling the mischievous sense of freedom to take over…. and just to be free… mix up a deck of cards, scatter them on the ground and risk losing some from the deck… This whimsical nature is what is appealing about the character of the little girl depicted in the art of Be Free.

In other artworks the same character can be found splashing paint across walls, jumping in puddles, watering plants, having a tea party and sometimes she is crouched under an umbrella, with a pensive expression, as rainbow rain washes over her. Be Free is almost always captioned or signed near the artwork.

The invitation to the child within is felt strongly when a work by Be Free is encountered. It is easy to relate to the child within. It is someone we all conjure up easily as the experiences of childhood have remained within. Emotions and impulsive actions are the first experiences we encounter. However, throughout life, much of our growing up journey is about pulling this freedom back and accepting the order applied from the world and other social forces. It is the whimsical spirit of letting go, the permission to be naughty, impulsive and playful against the rules, order, and restrictions that is very enticing indeed. Whilst an adult can easily relate, I have found children drawn to this artwork too. Clearly relating to the childhood represented is appealing to all ages.

The little girl, depicted in the Be Free artwork, is an incredibly recognisable character and when a new work appears there is no doubt who the work is by. I have had great pleasure documenting the artwork via photographs and sharing them through the virtual sphere. Alongside the works of Be Free are collaborations with other artists. Two notable collaborations are with the artists Suki and Erin Greer.

Interestingly, it is the artwork of Be Free, amongst the vast collections of street art I have been documenting, that has been commented on most extensively across the international virtual sphere. Clearly, the whimsy of Be Free is one we all relate to.

The saying ‘Once a child always a child’ echoes strongly in the work of Be Free. Following is a gallery of some of the photographs I have taken of the works of Be Free from my Flickr feed. Be Free from Preprint Flickr

Be Free will be having a joint exhibition with Erin Greer called “Monster and the girl’ at Egg Gallery in Collingwood. The exhibition opens February 8, 2013 and runs till February 22, 2013. Following is the promotional video. The gallery is located at 66a Johnston st, Collingwood.

This past session, one of the subjects I completed included the study visits to various information agencies. Interestingly most people visiting the Melbourne organisations were from other States of Australia or regional areas and I was definitely amongst the minority from Melbourne on the visits.

I’m not going to venture into detail about each of the organisations but rather provide a focus on Melbourne Library Service.

In previous posts, I have mentioned some of their innovative programming such as the Gallery Space hosting exhibitions, the cafe poet, the public piano and various workshops including Zine making workshops. It’s incredibly exciting to learn about the community engagement offered by Melbourne Library Service and how it provides a glimpse to the changing nature of libraries as space and how they are utilised.

In line with the rise in the creative maker culture, Melbourne Library Service reflects this, not only in their programming of workshops but in their collection building too. For instance, the Zine creation workshops lead to Zines that become part of the library collection that a wider audience can borrow, just like books, ebooks, audio books and CD’s. In effect this is an example of great community engagement by a public library facilitating publishing and sharing.

Another interesting transition, exemplified in their plans for the library that is being built at Docklands due to open in 2014, is the incorporation of multimedia production facilities, a performance space and a Green room (for special effects). With these facilities, enabling multimedia production, they are planning to employ two multimedia technicians to facilitate the process and enable community to create films, audio recordings and even have performances or screenings.

Clearly, exciting times are ahead for public libraries as they transition to being the Hub of the community. The public library provides meeting spaces, resources and enables creative engagement. It provides connections to artists and community and facilitates the sharing of a local voice to a global audience.

Funnily, the study visits were meant to clarify the kind of information agency I would like to end up in. Currently, I’m in a small school library and for a few months I was convinced it was audiovisual archives and preservation that I wanted to focus on. After the visits, I came away liking all of them and have now broadened my choices rather than narrowed… Maybe next year I’ll narrow it down and the sky will provide a clear and narrowed focus 🙂

This past week, as an activity for my studies, I investigated one photographic process and I chose the tintype process. I now need a medium format camera as I just want to dive in and start taking tintype photos!

The tintype was discovered by Adolphe Alexandre Martin, in France, 1853 and patented in the USA in 1856 by Hamilton Smith (Martin et.al. 2008). Use of the tintype spread quickly and has an interesting history. As a process, the tintype was predominantly in use from 1853 to1930 (Lavédrine, p. 38). The process delivered photography to a wider audience, was a precursor to what is now known as street photography and a precursor of the photobooth (Martin et.al. 2008). The faster process, than the daguerreotype, contributed to more candid images and experimentation, as no longer did a pose have to be held for such a long time (p. 2). In the USA, the tintype process is responsible for collections of photographs taken during the civil war. For the first time photography was faster, portable and tintypists travelled with their portable darkrooms, unlike the studio setting of the daguerreotype. Furthermore, having an iron support made the photographs less fragile and people were able to mail them to each other or keep them in books whilst away (Lavédrine et.al. p. 37).

A tintype is a positive monochrome image on metal (Lavédrine et.al. p.4). The other two positive image processes of the 19th century are the daguerreotype (on copper plates and encased) and the ambrotype (on a glass plate also encased) (Reilly, 2009 pp. 51-52). The tintype is also known as a ferrotype, melainotype or melanograph (Lavédrine p. 38). The metal support has a thickness of approximately 0.15mm (Lavédrine et.al. p 35) and the sizes of the tintype were commonly 2.25 inches by 3.5 inches (Martin et.al. 2008). However, it was possible to produce multiple images, the size of a stamp, on one sheet. This is where the idea of the photobooth is born. Unlike the daguerreotype and ambrotype, which were housed in cases with a glass cover, the tintype mostly wasn’t. However, some were and when cased it is difficult to tell the difference between a tintype and an ambrotype. Reilly (2009) suggests a magnet being the only way without needing to remove the case (p. 52).

Lavédrine et.al (2009) elaborates the construct of a tintype. It consists of a metal sheet of iron as the support. The sheet was lacquered, often with darkened shellac. The metal support is then coated with a binder consisting of collodian mixed with bromide and/or iodide. This is bathed in a silver nitrate sensitiser causing the collodian solvents to evaporate. This plate is placed in a frame and inserted directly into a camera where it is exposed. The exposure time of a tintype varied from 2 to 10 seconds (Martin et.al. 2008). The sheet is then developed in a solution of ferrus sulphate and nitric acid and fixed. Finally a varnish is usually applied to the image. (Lavédrine et.al p 36). The whole process was complete in 10 to 15 minutes. The tintype process of creating the image is similar to the wet-plate collodian process. However, the darkened tin layer produces the effect of a positive, with the image remaining laterally reversed (Lavérdine et.al. 2009 p. 34).

The Tintype process appears to have experienced a revival in recent years with a few people currently working with this process including Keliy Anderson-Staley, who exhibited a mixed media installation titled ‘imagined family heirlooms: an archive of inherited fictions’. This installation incorporated Tintype portraits and found objects. Robb Kendricks had Tintype portraits of a Cowboy series featured in a National Geographic issue in 2007 and published books with his works. Alice Blanch is an Australian photographer that works with alternative photographic processes including the tintype. Gold street Studios in Victoria, Australia provide workshops in alternative processes.

It is interesting to locate a commercial portrait studio called Photobooth, in The Mission area of San Francisco that is dedicated to creating portraits specifically with the tintype process. Michael Shindler, the owner of Photobooth, utilises a medium format camera to create and sell tintype portraits to people who walk in for this purpose. Shindler describes the process of his work and, like others currently working with the tintype process, there are modifications to the original process. For instance one modification relates to the support utilised, which is a plaque made for trophies, sized 4 inches by 5 inches. As it is already black on one side this eliminates the need to coat the metal sheet with dark shellac. Shindler applies collodian, also a modified mixture, directly to the plate and proceeds with the rest of the process. Shindler sells the portraits for sixty dollars. The following clip, by Tested, has Shindler discussing his tintype process.

In a museum or archive setting, the George Eastman House, as well as being a Museum of Photography housing collections, delivers courses in the tintype process. As the tintype process documented much of the Civil War period in the USA, collections have developed in other museums or archives including The Black Archives of Mid-America; housing a tintype collection specific to African-Americans in the Mid-West. In Australia, Picture Australia produces a result for tintypes housed in Australian libraries.

Because most tintypes were not provided with a protective glass there are some specific preservation issues that distinguish it from daguerreotypes and ambrotypes. Initially, not having the glass encasement contributed to their robustness, which is why they were so portable (Lavédrine et.al. p 37). However, this portability has meant that they are often scratched or bent. Being metal they can easily rust in humid environments and this contributes to the image layer and lacquer to blister and even become detached from the support. The chemical components of tintype photographs are sensitive to light and can be damaged if displayed under strong light.

In light of this fragility of tintypes, Lavédrine et.al (2009) recommends keeping tintypes in storage envelopes and protected from light and humidity with a sheet of cardboard to prevent further changes or deformations (p.38).

Courtesy of ALA TechSource I have been alerted to Banned Books Week. Following is the list of books challenged and/or banned in 2009/2010. You will notice that amongst the list is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Diary of Anne Frank and closer to home, The Twilight Series was “Banned in Australia (2009) for primary school students because the series is too

racy.”

To obtain lists of earlier years you can visit the ALA free downloads page where you find PDF lists from the years 2004-2005 onwards. It provides a snapshot of a trend in censorship. Mapping Censorship provides a visual geographical representation in the USA.

I came across the post titled Battery lantern being recharged at Darien Library reposted on Tame the Web. What is highlighted is how the services of a library are so expansive these days. I too plug in when I visit libraries and sometimes this includes my phone or even video camera if I am filming as well as the laptop. The following video demonstrates that even during times of natural disasters the Library comes in to save the day. A big Hooray for Libraries!

As a parliamentary librarian, Missingham, chronicles the development of Electronic Resources Australia (ERA) as a collaborative and coordinated effort addressing the availability of quality information sources and content without allocated funding. The role of public libraries is defined as being integral in the provision of services, quality information, providing skills development in information literacy, improving access and participation in the digital environment. The participation in the digital economy and environments is linked to active citizenship. Missingham highlights this as linked to principles of the Australian Government 2.0 taskforce launched 2009.

By inference, Missinham identifies a divide between rural and metropolitan regions. The National Broadband Network, (NBN) presents the promise of bridging the divide with the expansion of information infrastructure backed by $43billion of Government funding. No funding has been allocated for information as relevant content, skills development, equitable access in public spaces and training required for information literacy.

Missingham outlines the case for improved services and access to information pointing to a correlation between improved literacy outcomes with participation in digital environments. ERA launched in 2007 after consensus on the model was reached by a representative group of Libraries, Education, Health and Government Associations. ERA delivers digital content based on an opt-in subscription model sponsored by the National Library of Australia. At the time the article was written 8.5 million Australians had access to information provided by ERA.

Missingham identifies issues and barriers encapsulated in the three areas of connectivity, content and capacity and recommends a Federal coordinated effort including committed Government funding for content creation and preservation efforts, skills development, training and improved accessibility.

Missingham’s background in the library sector and extensive publications on digital environments adds credibility to her viewpoints. This paper, contributes to the evidence-based practice necessitated to channel support from the Government as is evident at a micro level with school libraries, (Todd, 2007) and Oberg (2006). Acknowledgement is paid to the limitations of this paper as its main purpose is to chronicle the development of ERA, bringing focus to the need for development of relevant digital content, skills, and equitable access for participation in the Digital environment whilst advocating for funding.

A key weakness is limiting the digital divide to a rural/metropolitan divide. Minimal attention is paid to socio-economic aspects with nothing mentioned of disparity between indigenous Australians and non-indigenous Australians as evidenced in remote communities in Central Australia, (Rennie et.al, 2010). Schleife (2009) points to individual determinants, such as education level, contributing to increased internet use in regional areas of Germany also supported by La Rose, et.al. (2007) in complexities of internet adoption in regional U.S.A. Hutley (2011) echoes Missingham but makes a point of extending the definition of digital divide to take account of socio-economic indicators, highlighting the existence of a digital divide in metropolitan areas. Unesco (p. 30, 2005) points to the digital divide as multifaceted and not a simple binary delineation between rural and metropolitan regions.

Metaphors such as ‘super highway’ help to channel support for governments in building the information infrastructure, Borgman (2000). Missingham alludes to these metaphors at the outset of her paper, however, her arguments strengthen in aligning the importance of the NBN with content, skills, accessibility and training, also supported by Unesco (2005). Hutley (2011) calls for a move away from the focus on the infrastructure and supports Missingham’s call for committed funding to ‘soft’ elements; content creation, skills development, access and training; noting that libraries are yet to be connected to the NBN.

Evidenced in this paper is the interplay between technology, policy and society in coming to grips with the challenges presented by the information Age, (Borgman, 2000), (Unesco, 2005) and (La Rose, et.al. 2007). The NBN is about open access, capacity and connectivity as well as a policy response to the restrictive trade practices of Telstra, (Mulligan and Neal, 2009) and (Morgan, 2010). It is yet to be seen whether the NBN will lead to adoption of broadband in homes and whether the most disadvantaged will be able to afford it, as questioned by Hutley (2011). The U.S.A experience indicates that adoption rates have remained low in rural areas and a significant divide continues to exist (La Rose, et.al 2007) and (Malecki, 2003).

This paper is an effective starting point to the important issues of access, participation, content creation, preservation and digital citizenship with a focus on the importance of libraries. It indicates a collaborative sector determined to contribute to the betterment of all people.

The following clip provides an indication of some of the work carried out by National film and Sound Archive. One of the branches carrying out the wonderful curation and content creation work in Australia.

Borgman, C. (2000) The premise and the promise of a global information infrastructure, Access to information in a network world, pp 1-31, Cambridge: MIT Press